Cold Christmas
by Citrine x
Summary: It's Christmas time in splatalot but Ballista's having a hard time getting in the Christmas spirit, Kook's trying to impress Shaiden and Crocness encounters a spot of bother. Just to add to everything a few unexpected visitors show up and Ballista's sure that Christmas is ruined!
1. December First

**A/N: Hi there, this is my first story on here so I'm still getting the hang of things! Before I start I should probably say that I'm a VERY keen writer and want to become an author in the future so I appreciate constructive criticism. Also, I've read almost every story on here and they're all great but I haven't commented. On that note, I've also become a very harsh marker and pick up mistakes without really intending to so I apologise in advance if my reviews are harsh :) :/**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Splatalot :(**

It was a chilly start to the December morning in the kingdom of splatalot. Being rather early in the morning, it was still dark outside although a harsh wind blew around and it was obvious that when the light made an appearance, the castle grounds would be wrapped in a shimmering blanket of frost. Although the conditions were dull and a little miserable, everything felt calm until...

Kook skipped down one of the corridors of the castle, a little heavy footed, whistling and occasionally singing the word "christmas" to himself. The bird had found the happiness that the cold of December 1st accompanied although one of the defenders hadn't...

As he came thudding down the corridor, a blurry eyed Ballista dragged herself out of bed and over to her bedroom door which she flung open with rage.

"Kook!" she shouted.

"Oh, hi Ballista!" Kook grinned.

"What _are_ you doing? It's 5am in the morning!" she scowled.

"Singing, why?"

"About Christmas?"

"Yeah! It's December Ballista! That means Christmas! Can't you feel the magic in the air?" Kook laughed.

"No," Ballista replied flatly.

"Sheesh, when did you turn into scrooge?" Kook's unique laugh filled the halls. "So, what _can_ you feel?"

"Like I'm being deprived of my sleep because a certain bird woke me up," the enraged huntress growled.

Just then, the blue ninja came walking down the corridor and joined her fellow defenders when she saw them. It really wasn't a surprise that she was up this early, she liked to be alert at all times.

"Hi there Shaiden," Kook acknowledged the ninja's presence.

"Morning Kook... Whoa! Um... Ballista what happened to you? You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards..." the blue ninja eyed the huntress' ruffled hair.

Ballista rolled her eyes before replying. "Feathers here woke me up," she gestured to Kook. "And I don't wake up looking beautiful, it takes time!

"Now you sound like Gildar!" Shaiden smirked causing Kook to laugh and suddenly bite down on his fist when he saw Ballista's expression.

"Call me Gildar again and I'll... Oh whatever," and with that the kilted huntress slammed her door leaving Kook and Shaiden in stitches of laughter in the hallway.

Back in her room, after showering, getting changed and spending 45 minutes braiding her blonde and red-streaked hair, the huntress was raring to go. Although she was still rather mad and a little tired, she spent a moment remembering the conversation.

_"When did you turn into scrooge?"_ echoed round her head. Ouch. That hurt. Ballista loved Christmas, perhaps even more than Kook at times, the atmosphere and joy and everything else made it her favourite time of year. Even Thorne was known to be a little cheery. To be honest though, it was only December 1st, still 24 days to Christmas. She was sure she'd become excited when they started the traditions. Snowball fights and hot chocolate were enough to raise anyone's spirits.

Down in the dining room, the other defenders were all talking about the holiday season. When Ballista walked in she received a table of funny looks and stares. After a few moments conversation resumed and Ballista raised an eyebrow. Nevertheless, she continued to make her way over to the selection of foods which she loaded onto her plate. She sat on her own, a little way down from the others and ate quietly. The others were all talking about the upcoming holiday and after the conversation with Kook and Shaiden, the huntress would rather do anything else.

"Hey Ballista, excited for Christmas?" Kook mocked.

This caused stares from the other defenders.

"Kook, stop it, you've had your fun, don't go too far, she's upset..." Shaiden whispered.

"Oh its fine, Ballista knows I'm only teasing, we're great friends!" he whispered back before facing Ballista again. "Oh yeah, that's right, scrooge doesn't like Christmas!" Kook's laughter filled the halls.

It was true, Ballista usually could tolerate the bird's taunting but honestly, she wasn't in the mood. It was all she could do not to scream. Instead, she took a deep breath, shakily picked up her splatbow and left the room slamming the large oak doors behind her.

"Oh Kook, I've never seen her this upset..." Shaiden murmured.

"What can we do?" Crocness asked


	2. A not-so-subtle x-mas hint

**A/N: A lot of the stuff from the defending scene is from the English (CBBC) version of series 1 episode 7 (apart from the Christmas conversation and gift ideas- some of which are from the defenders' facebook pages)**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own Splatalot :-(**

Although the defenders were caught up in Christmas spirit, that didn't stop attackers and so the normal routine was in order.

Sadly for Ballista, she was scheduled to defend the moat which meant that she'd have to make conversation with her fellow defenders for the next few hours.

She reluctantly took her post at the water cannon and was just wishing that she could have worn a coat when she heard loud shouting that could only be Skabb.  
"Skabb wants to go on the splatzooka!"  
"Skabb, it's my turn, we'll just have to share!" the blue ninja's British accent floated through the air and the huntress was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Skabb probably wasn't too aware of her inability to be excited for the festive season and Shaiden really tried to stick up for her so maybe Ballista would be able to become her usual charming self for a while.

Soon, the first attacker was at the start of the moat course and Ballista forgot all about Christmas.  
"Let's go dragons!" the attacker named Adriana Yelled before promptly falling off the fourth barrel. She quickly scrambled up the slippery slope to the rolling mace... Before falling right off again.  
"I think she's scared Ballista," Shaiden laughed.  
"I think she's terrified!" the huntress replied, suddenly in a much better mood. Shaiden smiled to herself, glad to see her friend happy again.  
"Good job Ballista!" she yelled.  
The said defender replied with a quick smile before spraying Adriana into the murky water once again.

Ballista was back to her usual self; she was having a great time splatting- and charming- attackers into the moat. Shaiden and Skabb resumed their arguing when an attacker named shae attempted to cross. Ballista grinned as Skabb roughly placed a hand on the ninja's shoulder making her jump off the floor in fright.  
"Just get the attacker Skabb!" Shaiden said, irritated  
"Shae, Shae, Shae! Let's play a little game called 'who can get the most wet,'" the huntress teased. "I win!" she cried blasting Shae with an icy jet of water.  
Even when the barbarian and ninja were grappling over the splatzooka and Skabb almost hit her, Ballista quickly laughed it off after yelling a little then listening to Shaiden apologise before yelling a lot. Then Skabb joined in yelling and they almost forgot to defend! It wasn't until the 11th attacker that things started to go down hill.

As he got to the top of the slippery slope, the attacker faced the defenders.  
"You know, I was wondering, do defenders celebrate Christmas?" he asked.  
Ballista grabbed the rail of her balcony to stop herself from collapsing under the weight that had just dropped onto her.  
"Oh yes!" Skabb yelled.  
"What presents do you get for Christmas?" the attacker asked.  
"Lots of stuff, usually we do a secret Santa," Shaiden smiled, trying to change the subject by shooting a splatball at him.  
"Skabb wants a dinosaur!" the barbarian yelled which resulted in a strange look from the attacker.  
"I guess I'd like some new ninja stuff. What about you Ballista?" Shaiden said shooting her a look that said _'answer quick and I'll change the subject.'_  
The blonde huntress groaned- maybe she wasn't over the depression- before replying.  
"You want to know what I want? Ok then, I want a dartboard and pictures of all you defenders, maybe some attackers too!" she said although Shaiden and Skabb either weren't listening or didn't get it. When she thought about it, she realised she wasn't being totally sarcastic. It _would_ be nice to throw darts at Gildar and the attackers... But mostly Gildar...

After the last attacker finished, Ballista left before he could do his happy dance.  
"Stupid attacker!" Shaiden groaned before leaving. She could hear the commotion in the stockade and what sounded like Gildar on a mission and kook and her brother arguing about being out of control. She smiled to herself before heading inside to warm up. She grabbed a mug and made herself a hot chocolate, thankful for her long sleeves. She suddenly felt very sorry for the defenders like Thorne and Ballista since they had to brave the cold in short sleeves.

Soon, the 3 defenders from the moat were called back out to defend the crown. Shaiden was rather surprised to see Ballista with a half smile on her face. It was obvious she wasn't happy though since she missed at close range with the slime bucket and moved around slower than usual.

Ballista's heart really wasn't in defending that round. She barely noticed anything apart from a slightly amusing moment where the new king -Trevon- was giving Gildar buckets of sass so Skabb decided to become the Viking's personal therapist and spontaneously hug him. As soon as the flag was raised, Ballista strapped her splatbow to her back and jogged into the nearby woods. She wasn't even sure where or why she was going. Maybe to think, or to work off her depression, either way she was going on a long walk.

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this but I was busy yesterday. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up later today or tomorrow.**


	3. Frozen Defender

**A/N: Happy new year guys! Have a great one! Sorry for the long wait for this update, I've been busy with Christmas and stuff! Anyway, please review!**

After discussing the day's defending, the 6 who were on guard- minus Ballista- headed back to the warmth of the flickering castle fire. Gildar was muttering something indecipherable about sass whilst Skabb kept saying "I know, I know..." Kook and Thorne had resumed their argument and Shaiden walked on her own occasionally rolling her eyes as she caught snip-its of both conversations. As she let her mind wander, she wondered about the absent defender's location. _She probably just wanted to go inside_ the ninja reassured herself, thinking no more of the matter.

Tinkor, Knightriss, Crocness, Skabb and Thorne had all gone to do their own thing that night which left Shaiden, Who was watching a samurai film, Kook, who was working up a new scheme, and Gildar, who was pondering over which shade of guyliner brought out his eyes more- black, or dark black- in the living room.

"Hey Shaiden," Kook got the ninja's attention. "I was thinking of pranking Thorne... Well actually I was thinking of pranking Gildar but he's in the room so I'll do that later..." this earned an angry look from the said Viking. "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanna help me?"  
"Uh, I dunno Kook; you probably don't want to upset him..." The blue ninja advised.  
"Fine, whatever, I'll go find Ballista-she'll help me!" and with that Kook jumped up out of his chair.  
"You do know she's not that immature," Gildar commented without looking up.  
"And she's still mad at you," Shaiden said.  
"Ah, I'm sure she's not, anyways, I'll apologise for... Whatever it was that I did..."  
Shaiden almost face-palmed but resisted the urge. "That bird is going to be hunted if he even _thinks_ about going into Ballista's room."  
"Aren't you going to stop him- not that I care," Gildar asked  
"What's the point, he never listens anyway."

Kook flew down the corridor which accommodated the huntress's room. He tapped almost nervously on the glossy red-painted door before calling. "Ballista, I was wondering if you wanted to help me pull a prank on Thorne..." He waited patiently for an answer but was met with a stony wall of silence. "Oh come on, you're not still mad? Fine, I'm sorry... For, whatever it was that I did..." There was still no reply so Kook cautiously turned the handle to find the door was unlocked.  
"Ballista?" with still no reply he stepped into the room. It was empty. There weren't many other places that the blonde huntress would be at this time of night. Either the living room, the kitchen or the training room and it was obvious that she wasn't in the living room since he was just there and the two defenders would have crossed paths. That left either the training room or the kitchen. It was unlikely that she'd be training since she had been on guard. So that left the kitchen, which actually made sense since the huntress wasn't at dinner.

Kook wandered into the kitchen, pulled in by the mouth-watering aroma of fresh Christmas baking and cinnamon.  
"Hey Ballista- Oh it's just you Thorny... Um, have you seen Ballista?" Kook asked  
"No," the alchemist replied gruffly.  
"Oh..." Kook glanced to the counter where two trays of soft mini cinnamon pretzels lay cooling. "Hey, um Thorne, who made the pretzels?" he asked innocently.  
"Shaiden, she asked me to put the last batch in the oven," Thorne answered without looking up.  
Whilst Thorne was speaking, Kook quickly grabbed one of the fresh treats and hid it behind his back even though it burnt his fingertips.  
"Alright then, bye!" the bird ran from the room grinning. _Totally worth the burns_ he thought.

After he stopped for a moment to enjoy Shaiden's cooking, Kook began to worry a little. After 20 minutes, he'd searched most of the rooms, growing increasingly concerned after each one. _She must've gone into the woods, but surely she'd be back by now..._ The Australian bird glanced out of the window to find that snow was falling thick and fast. He didn't want to cause a mad panic but he didn't want to leave His fellow defender if she was in trouble even though there was no doubt that she could handle herself; if Ballista was in trouble she would have called. That's what she other defenders would say. Surely it would be better to be safe than sorry? Suddenly, Kook knew what he was going to do.

"Gildar, GILDAR!" Skabb's loud bellows once again filled the halls. He hammered on the Viking's door until it was flung open.  
"What!?" Gildar appeared at the doorway, hair slightly damp from a shower.  
"Kook wants to talk to you," the barbarian stated. Kook leaned around the barbarian so the Viking could see him and grinned.  
"Right... Was that shouting necessary?"  
"Of course it was, it's Skabb after all," Kook laughed.  
"Besides, how else would we get you out of the shower?" Skabb asked  
"True, very true," Gildar slowly nodded.  
"Alright see you later," Skabb left the room and Kook faced Gildar with a surprisingly serious look on his face.  
"We have a problem," the bird lowered his voice.  
"Why, what's up?"  
"I'm worried about Ballista..."  
"What's happened to her is she ok?" Gildar's voice sounded concerned and Kook knew he'd confided in the right person. Even if Ballista didn't feel the same way, Gildar genuinely cared about her- although he didn't like admitting it...  
"Well, I can't find her anywhere. I think she went into the pine forest but she's not back yet... I mean, I'm sure she's fine but I thought we should make sure." Kook ran a hand through his green hair nervously.  
"Yeah ok I'm coming, just give me 10 minutes to sort my hair..."  
"Gildar, 2!"  
"5," the Viking bargained  
"Fine whatever, just be quick!" the bird rolled his eyes.

(3 hours earlier...)

Ballista trudged through the pine forest. It was starting to get a little dark but she felt calm and relaxed however she was aware of a nagging hollowness in her stomach which she was trying to ignore. She unhooked her splatbow from her back and took aim. Soon, almost all of the trees on the path she'd just walked were covered in green slime. Eventually, the huntress reached a clearing where she stopped for a while. A light snowfall began to fall at some point and Ballista shivered; she was getting cold.

Being a huntress however, she knew how to survive and so swiftly made herself a small fire. She knew she should go back but she was enjoying the peace of the forest with the fresh smell of pine needles and the shimmering blanket of snow that now covered everything; maybe it was starting to feel like Christmas...

Ballista was now aware that she was constantly, violently shivering even though she was no longer aware of the cold-which probably wasn't a good sign- so she stood, preparing to head back but found herself looking at a thick line of trees. It was now almost pitch black and her hunting senses took over. _I'll just have to wait out the night._ So she sat back down beside her fading fire although waiting wasn't going to be easy.

The hunger and emptiness was starting to get to her, as well as the exposure to the cold. She might have been able to catch something-like a bird- to eat, however her splatbow was loaded with splatballs, not weaponry, which it wasn't built to use anyway. However, even if she _did_ have arrows to use, she hadn't been hunting properly since she came to the splatalot castle and whilst she had no doubt about her aim, she had nothing to clean the kill with. Feeling defeated, she hugged her arms to her chest and lay back.

As Ballista lay on the freezing snowy floor, her body numb with cold, she moved her position a little and a searing stab of pain hit her side. She winced, drew in a sharp breath, rolled back over and curled her legs. Her cold fingers found the tear in the fabric of her clothes. Not wanting to inspect the wound or the item which made it, she began to involuntarily think about how hungry she was. Slowly, her eyes began to close.

"I'm cold," Kook complained.  
"So am I," Gildar rolled his eyes.  
"It's so dark," the bird stated the obvious.  
"I did not know that! Thank you so much for that Kook!" Gildar replied sarcastically.  
"Well if you hadn't spent 20 minutes sorting your hair, it might not be!" Kook exclaimed.  
The Viking and bird were walking in the pitch darkness of the night, in the pine forest. They had no tracks to follow courtesy of the thick blanket of snow on the ground and no sense of direction.  
Kook, who was getting bored, started whistling to himself and clicking his fingers in time to the tune. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared from behind Gildar, who spun round quickly.  
"Kook, what was that?"  
"What was what?"  
"That flash of light!"  
"Oh right, this," Kook quickly snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared before vanishing a few seconds later. During the short time the surrounding area lit up.  
"Kook, that's brilliant!" Gildar exclaimed picking up a fallen branch. He held it out to kook who finger snapped and pointed the flame to the branch which burst into flame.  
"Ha ha, yes!" Kook grinned.

Now that the area was light, the duo was able to see. As Gildar looked around, he noticed several of the trees were green. He walked over to examine it. "Slime..." he turned to Kook. "Hey kook, I think we're on the right path..."

Several minutes later Gildar pushed a few bushes apart and emerged in a clearing. As he looked around, his gaze landed on a dying fire. As he watched the flames flicker and go out, his gaze fell onto something in the snow.  
"Oh my gosh..." the Viking's breathing became quicker.  
Just then, Kook made his way into the clearing. "Hey, Gildar are you okay?"  
Gildar ignored the bird and ran through the deep snow, dropping his torch with Kook following. Their only thoughts were to reach Ballista.


	4. Christmas Spirit

**A/N: Sorry I've not updated in a while and I guess this is kinda out of season now so I probably won't update as much. I am thinking about a few other stories though. Either a doctor who/splatalot one with Thorne and the doctor travelling to the defenders future or I was thinking maybe a splatalot-fantasy with the defenders having some sort of super power or something like that. What do you guys think? :-)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Splatalot.**

Kook and Gildar kneeled beside Ballista. The huntress was covered in frost and snow that hadn't melted due to the lack of warmth in her body.

Gildar shakily brushed the snow from Ballista's face- he had to admit, the frost on her eyelashes did look pretty- and gently placed a hand on her cheek.  
"Oh Kook, she's freezing..." the Viking whispered  
"Is she alive?" Kook asked poking her arm.  
Suddenly, the huntress' eyes opened sleepily "Of course I'm alive! Gildar what are you doing?"  
The Viking quickly drew his hand away and kook grinned. "And she's back!" he laughed.  
"Ballista, you're freezing..." Gildar nervously touched her shoulder.  
"Am I?" she shivered.  
"You need to get back to the castle, you'll get hypothermia!"  
"Alright then, let's go," Ballista went to push herself up but found no strength left in her body and a sharp pain in her side. She gasped and dropped back onto the floor, trying not to let the pain show on face, and placed a hand over the wound. Luckily, the boys didn't notice her pain, they we're more concerned with getting Ballista back into the warmth.

"Hey, just let me carry you..." Gildar offered.  
"You're kidding right? I can look after myself! I'm a huntress!"  
"Then at least let me help you up..."  
Ballista couldn't deny that offer, and so reached for the Viking's hand. As she did, Kook, who was being uncharacteristically quiet, noticed the tear in both her clothes and her skin.  
"Ballista... Your side..." Kook pointed to the wound.  
"I'm fine!" Ballista picked up her splatbow and noticed part of it was covered in a dry substance. Blood. She must have leant on it, and it cut her. Although it wasn't bleeding anymore and it wasn't deep, it was quite big.  
"Alright then, whatever you say," Gildar shrugged.

After 10 minutes of walking Ballista had to stop. Her legs were going numb and her side was aching. She'd already given in and let Gildar steady her by holding his hand as they walked, which she wasn't pleased about, and now she wasn't sure how much further she could walk.  
"Wait," she said leaning against a tree.  
"Are you _sure_ you're ok?" Kook asked, concerned.  
Gildar placed a hand on her arm and the huntress shivered. "Is anyone else cold?"  
"Um, a little I guess," Kook replied.

The Viking picked up the huntress' splatbow and strapped it onto his back. "Come, here," he walked over to where the kilted warrior was slumped and gently, but swiftly, lifted her up into his arms.  
"Hey! Put me down!" Ballista cried in rage, hitting his arm repeatedly but getting nowhere.  
"Ha, do you really think you're stronger than the amazing Gildar? Come on Kook; we're going home!" the Viking stated walking off with the thrashing huntress in his arms. Kook chuckled to himself before following.  
"Keep still will you! You'll tire yourself out!" Gildar scolded Ballista.

A while later, Ballista was becoming drowsy. She'd given up trying to escape the Vikings clutches and every so often, caught herself falling asleep. She was vaguely aware of Gildar watching her almost affectionately. She gave in though and soon found herself drifting.

"You've really scored there, mate!" Kook chucked "Look at her!"  
"Oh stop with the sass! You know how stubborn she is!"  
"Yeah but you gotta keep tryin'. You know, like with me and Shaiden, I'm going to buy her something really nice this time!"  
"Hrm, you're probably right... Wait a minute... You and Shaiden?" he raised an eyebrow  
"W-what... I... Didn't say that... I said... Ummm..." The Australian bird faltered.  
"Ha! You've got a crush on Shaiden!" The Viking declared triumphantly. "Wait, who else knows?"  
"Just you... and maybe... Ballista..." Kook hung his head.  
"_Ballista_ knows and she didn't tell me?"  
"Well why would she?"  
"Because I like to know these things."  
"Whatever, like I said, Keep trying and you'll get there," Kook advised.  
"Do me a favour and hang some mistletoe in our corridor." Gildar grinned.  
Little did the pair know, Ballista had woken herself and heard every word they'd said.

"Put me down!" Ballista screeched "You don't have to carry me into the castle and make me look like a complete idiot!"  
The trio had finally reached their home. Kook was bored, Gildar was worrying about his hair and Ballista was becoming angry.  
"Yes, yes I do," the Viking stated.  
"Why?"  
"Well 1) because it'll be... Interesting..." really he wanted to say funny but held back. "And 2) because I care about you... As a friend," he added hastily. "And I can't let you get hurt again. We'd all do the same for each other."  
"Except I'm sure Shaiden and Crocness wouldn't be able to lift you," Ballista replied ruining the moment.  
"Wow, and I thought _I_ was the sarcastic one!" Kook laughed.  
"Kook, can you open the door?" Gildar asked.  
"Sure."

A while later, Kook had managed to unbolt the heavy doors and Gildar carried a sill freezing Ballista through them. She closed her eyes trying to work through the shame and convince herself Gildar was doing this for the right reason. The other defenders however, mistook her closed eyes for unconsciousness.

Gildar walked into the living room where Shaiden, Thorne, Skabb and Crocness we're seated.  
"Hi guys," he acknowledged.  
"Hi Gildar," Shaiden looked up "Oh my God... Is that..."  
"Yes, but she's fine-ish. You know, just a cut and the possible chance that she's got hypothermia," he said sarcastically, placing her on the sofa in front of the fire. The huntress mentally rolled her eyes as Skabb brought over some blankets and Thorne carried some soup over.  
"Seriously guys, I'm fine, really. Although, I haven't eaten since breakfast," Ballista took the Soup and propped herself up.  
"But you're cold," Crocness commented.  
"Yeah, I guess but I'm fine otherwise," however as she moved the tear in her fabric became visible which caused a lot of fuss. Eventually, everyone had settled and Ballista was all patched up.

An hour later, Ballista had eaten her way through two tins of soup, a bagel and a chocolate chip muffin which she was feeling rather guilty about, and Kook had found a Christmas film to watch even though it was a little early. The blonde huntress had warmed up considerably, but after being so cold, she felt as if she was melting.

After the film ended, Ballista slowly rose to her feet and bid her fellow defenders goodnight. A few moments later, the ninja appeared by her side.  
"Are you alright?" Shaiden asked causing Ballista to jump.  
"Gosh, I didn't see you there!"  
"Ninja," she grinned  
"Of course. Yeah I'm not bad, a bit cold. I really appreciated the film by the way, tell Kook I said that. You know, it _is_ stating to feel magical. Kook was right- but don't tell him I said that!"  
"No course not," the British defender grinned. "Glad you're feeling better.  
"Yeah, not sure if I'm totally over it but I'm nearly there."  
"Good, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow then; we're both on defence again."  
"Oh don't remind me, if I sleep through my alarm just throw some water on me!" Ballista groaned  
"Got'cha!" Shaiden laughed waving goodbye as Ballista entered her room.  
Ballista quickly realised that Shaiden might have taken her seriously and shot into the corridor. "Shaiden wait!" she gasped but found only an empty hallway. She groaned again and flopped back onto her bed desperately hoping she'd hear her alarm.


	5. A huntress, a ninja and a snowball

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, I'm not going to be updating this much- sorry! I've finally managed to write a bit on my bio and I also have a new story up!**

A loud buzzing filled Ballista's bedroom as her alarm went off. She groaned and pulled her pillow over her ears. The huntress vaguely heard Shaiden open the door and mumbled "I'm up... I'm up..." before the ninja mercilessly flung a bowl of icy water over her. "Arghh! I'm up!" she gasped springing out of bed.

Shaiden smirked as the huntress stood creating a small puddle of dripping water in the middle of her room.  
"Thank you for that, Shaiden," she said through gritted teeth.  
"No problem, you did ask me to," the said defender replied.  
"Well there's this thing called sarcasm. I thought you of all people would've known that, being Thorne's sister and all."  
"True, very true." she nodded and paused before saying, "You know, you should probably do something with your hair, we're defending the stockade in 45 minutes."  
Ballista rolled her eyes.  
"Hey, there's that sarcasm you were talking about!" Shaiden mocked. "See you later," she said, disappearing from the room.  
_You've got to be kidding me!_ The huntress thought annoyed.

45 minutes later, the ninja once again threw open the huntress' red door.  
"Ballista, you're late! Come on, the attackers have all crossed the moat!"  
"Wait! I've had to re-do my hair because it _somehow_ got all wet!" Ballista replied giving Shaiden a death-stare through the mirror whilst she braided a few strands of red hair together.  
"Look, you really should just tie your hair back like me," the blue ninja walked over to the dressing table. "It's much more convenient!" and with that, she tried to scoop the huntress' thick blonde hair into a bobble.  
"Hey, hey, get off!" Ballista replied shaking her hair out before hastily tying one more braid. "Alright, let's go!"

"Witness the wrath of Shaiden!" the ninja cried, hanging over the barrier of the stockade with a slime-stick before splatting an unsuspecting attacker in orange.  
"Hello there," Crocness grinned, dumping a bucket of slime on the purple attacker as she fitted her 3rd rung.  
Meanwhile, Ballista was standing sleepily with her elbow on the purple railing and her head on her hand. Every now and then she yawned and almost sprayed herself with foam as she accidentally turned on the froth-brother. "W-what?" she gasped.  
Shaiden chuckled as she watched the huntress hastily pick up her splatbow and fire several splatballs at the attackers.

After the round was over and the purple, green, yellow and light blue attackers had escaped, Crocness and Shaiden exchanged glances and a small wink.

Gildar sauntered down a corridor towards the kitchen, mirror in hand, when he crossed paths with the huntress who was heading out for some target practice.  
"Hey Ballista, how are you?" he asked  
She placed a hand on her side where she'd been heavily bandaged "Alright, a bit sore though and there's a horrid bruise!"  
"And you're training?"  
"Yeah I can't just stop can I?"  
"Yes! Course you can!"  
"See you later Gildar," Ballista said making her way outside.  
Gildar then went to find Shaiden and Crocness.

Outside in the pine forest, Ballista stood on the snowy ground firing at trees and bushes. She took aim at a fallen branch about 50 feet away and fired, hitting it exactly and covering it in a thin layer of slime. She then moved to a bush a little to the left of the branch. She moved her finger to press the trigger and in that short time, something hit her good side. The impact knocked her aim and she missed by a good 2 feet. She looked down and found the remains of a snowball on her kilt. She turned around to find the culprit but found only the silhouette of Shaiden quite a while away.

Ballista was hit with snowballs several more times before she started to get really mad. Another snowball came from above and hit her on the back of the neck. She looked up into the trees. Unfortunately, for them, the culprit was just too slow, getting back into their hiding place. Ballista had just caught a hint of blue and a bit of purple. She grinned and knelt down creating a small pile of snowballs but making sure she fired her splatbow several times so as not to draw attention to herself.

Eventually she was armed with at least 20 sparkling snowballs. She grinned as she picked one up, drew her arm back and threw it into the trees. A yelp came from the foliage and Ballista stood against the trunk as two snowballs came from different trees. As Ballista looked, she found Shaiden had disappeared. She picked up a few more snowballs and threw them into different trees. Soon, she was overrun by snowballs flying at her and there was no way she could keep up so she sat at the foot of a tree and re-made her pile. Then, she carefully loaded three into her weapon and scaled a tree. She spent several minutes moving her snowballs up there before she settled and took aim. She had a good idea of the trees that had people in and a good idea of who they were.

From a nearby tree she heard whispering.  
"Where did she go?" an Australian voice said.  
"Probably to make more snowballs," came a female voice.  
Ballista moved a branch and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before taking aim on what she assumed was a person and fired the three snowballs in quick succession. A yelp and a lot of rustling later, Kookaburra tumbled out of the tree. Ballista was just about to pelt him with several more snowballs when hundreds flew out of nearby trees.  
"Stop! Stop! Guys it's me!" he shrieked.

Eventually, it became obvious that a lot of people had run out. Ballista had been quietly sitting with her selection of snowballs waiting. She suddenly realised she was grinning and having a great time. She'd worked out that her fellow defenders had ambushed her with a snowball fight but since Kook had fallen, it had turned into a every-man-for-himself battle. There was a small rustle and Shaiden dropped out of the same tree Kook did, sprinted to the middle of the clearing and made several snowballs in seconds before climbing back to 'safety.' (It wasn't really safe though since the huntress had her weapon and she felt confident that the others weren't armed with splatzookas.)

The ninja's actions seemed to trigger a reaction as both Gildar and Tinkor dropped out of their trees shortly followed by Crocness. Ballista turned to Shaiden and Kook's tree and threw a snowball just in front of it to grab their attention.  
"Psst! Shaiden," she whispered.  
The ninja turned and edge out onto a branch. Ballista did the same.  
"There you are," Shaiden whispered. "Well played."  
"Thanks, who's working with who?" Ballista replied  
"Well there's me and Kook, Gildar, Skabb and Tinkor, Thorne and Crocness, and Knightriss."  
"Thanks," Ballista grinned.  
"Hey, you're enjoying it!"  
"Yeah, I guess I am... Now let's beat them!"

**A/N: I really love this chapter so feel free to give your opinion. The next chapter will probably have the end of the snowball fight in it.**


End file.
